NACO Associate and Sustaining Members enable NACO to enhance its continuing education programs for county officials across the state. Visit NACO's complete associate and sustaining membership list here.

Banner County Commissioner Robert Post was elected 2016 President of the Nebraska Association of County Officials during the 121st annual conference conducted in Kearney. Post has been a Banner County Commissioner since 2010. County Officials also elected William Tielke, Holt County Commissioner as Vice President, Earl McNutt, Red Willow County Commissioner as Second Vice President and Deb Schorr, Lancaster County Commissioner as Secretary - Treasurer. Post will assume the duties of President from Sherry Morrow, Buffalo County Commissioner who will serve on the NACO Executive Board as Past President. Pictured above from left to right are Sherry Morrow, Robert Post, Deb Schorr, William Tielke and Earl McNutt.

Neil Miller Chosen as County Official of the Year

Neil Miller, Buffalo County Sheriff, was honored by the Nebraska Association of County Officials as the County Official of the Year during the 121st Annual Conference in Kearney on December 9 - 11, 2015. Miller has served as the Buffalo County Sheriff since 1991. Miller is pictured receiving his award from 2015 NACO President, Sherry Morrow.

MIPS Client of the Year recipient was York County Clerk, Kelly Turner.

Women of NACO

The Nebraska Women of NACO pose with NACo President Sallie Clark from El Paso County, Colorado and National Women of NACo President Mary Ann Borgesen, Douglas County Commissioner from Omaha for a photo after the opening session featuring Curt Tomasevicz, Olympic Gold Medalist pictured in the middle in the front row. Clark is pictured to Tomasevicz's left and Borgesen is pictured to his right along with NACO President Sherry Morrow.

Sock Drive A Success

Sorting and counting the socks by the Clerks, Register of Deeds and Election Commissioners at conference.

During the 121st Nebraska Association of County Officials annual conference in Kearney Nebraska held December 9th thru 11th, the Goodwill Committee of the County Clerk, Election Commissioners and Register of Deeds conducted a 'sock' drive. Over 5,500 pair of socks were donated by employees and members of the communities of the counties across the state of Nebraska. Donated socks were distributed to the 4 Veterans home in Nebraska, The Victory Apartments in Omaha and homeless shelters throughout Nebraska, according to Nemaha County Clerk, Joyce Oakley, Chairman of the Goodwill Committee.

Training on Proposed Changes to County Roads Standards

The most extensive changes are being proposed for county roads and municipal streets standards since their inception in 1970. The purpose of this presentation is to review the standards in general and discuss the more significant changes. Most of the focus is on minimum design standards, including 3R standards, a new format for tables, and several new notes and definitions. Expectations of the Nebraska Board of Public Roads Classifications and Standards will be discussed, especially relaxation of standards requests. State highway standards are not covered.

Tax season is right around the corner, and Community Action offers free tax preparation services to low-to moderate-income individuals and families in our community. We need your help this year to ensure that those eligible to the Tax Prep program are getting the services they need. The U.S. Census estimates that over 50% of families in Lincoln alone earned less than $50,000 annually, making them eligible for tax preparation services. Since the Tax Prep program operates solely on volunteers, eligible individuals and families are counting on people like you to share your time and talents, so that they can meet their basic needs. Whether you have had experience filing taxes in the past, or have no experience at all, we welcome you to join our team of volunteers! Community Action will provide all of the necessary training free of charge. Volunteer training begins in December through January, and tax preparation season runs from late January through April 15. If you would like to volunteer, but do not want to prepare taxes, we are also recruiting volunteers for the following positions: site coordinators, intake workers, greeters, and interpreters.

For questions or more information about becoming a volunteer and making a difference today, contact Georgann Roth at: 402-875-9320 or groth@communityactionatwork.org.

The Nebraska Association of Local Health Directors (NALHD) are supporting and coordinating five No Wrong Door trainings across the state (see attached flyer for dates and locations). These trainings have been developed by the multi-disciplinary Veteran's Brain Injury Task Force over the past several years to give community members from a range of professions/organizations a solid understanding of issues that veterans, service members, and their families/loved ones face. The training also gives participants resources and strategies they can use to serve veterans, service members, and their families better.

Susan Bockrath, Executive Director of the NALHD says that, "I want to make sure that other folks, especially those who maybe don't think their work relates to veterans, know that these trainings are coming up and that there really is value for everyone... teachers, principals, county clerks, law enforcement...everyone."

Multi-Agency Resource Training Center Opportunity

Nebraska Voluntary Organizations Active in Disaster (NE VOAD) is sponsoring a training this fall and early winter in four locations on multi-agency resource centers (MARCs). A MARC is a one-stop shop for those affected by disasters-various community and state organizations and agencies have booths. Disaster victims can visit all the service/information providers and determine a plan of action based upon their and their family's needs.

Red Cross will teach the training, and it is free to attend; lunch will be provided. Travel scholarships are available; information is on the flyer. Participants will learn the benefits of a MARC, how to set up a MARC, what agencies should be included, and challenges for coordinating a MARC. This information will be useful to community leaders!

The Omaha Police Department and Grant Writing USA will present a two-day grants workshop in Omaha, January 11-12, 2016. This training is for grant seekers across all disciplines. Attend this class and you'll learn how to find grants and write winning grant proposals.

Beginning and experienced grant writers from city, county and state agencies as well as nonprofits, K-12, colleges and universities are encouraged to attend.

Multi-enrollment discounts and discounts for Grant Writing USA returning alumni are available. Tuition payment is not required at the time of enrollment.

Tuition is $455 and includes all materials: workbook and accompanying 420MB resource CD that's packed full of tools and more than 200 sample grant proposals. Seating is limited, online reservations are necessary.

More than 10,000 agencies across North America have turned to Grant Writing USA for grant writing and grant management training.

Boards To Elect Chairs in January

Neb.Rev.Stat. § 23-156 provides that the board of county commissioners at its regular meeting in January of each year shall elect a chairman of the board to serve for the ensuing year.

Pursuant to Neb.Rev.Stat. § 23-272, "The regular meetings of the county board shall be held in January." Until this statute was amended in 2004, it required the reorganization to occur on the second Tuesday in January. As it now stands, the re-organizational meeting can occur on any date in January.

The election of the chair is addressed in §23-274. "The board at its regular meeting of each year shall organize by choosing one of its number as chairman, who shall preside at all meetings of the board during the year; and in case of his absence at any meeting, the members present shall choose one of their number as temporary chairman."

County Boards and a Limited Number of Officials' Salaries Must Be Set by January 15, 2016

Pursuant to Neb. Rev. Stat. § 23-1114, the salaries of all elected county officers must be fixed by the county board prior to January 15 of the year in which a general election will be held for the respective offices. The majority of elected officials' salaries were set for their term by January 15, 2014; however, there are two exceptions. The first exception is for elected officials who will be elected in the non-Presidential election years. The second potential exception is for county boards that choose to increase or decrease the salary for county board members. Boards are able to do so due to provisions in the Nebraska Constitution, Art. III, § 19 that provides in part:

[T]he compensation of any public officer, including any officer whose compensation is fixed by the Legislature, shall not be increased or diminished during his or her term of office, except that when there are members elected or appointed to the Legislature or the judiciary, or officers elected or appointed to a board or commission having more than one member, and the terms of such members commence and end at different times, the compensation of all members of the Legislature, of the judiciary, or of such board or commission may be increased or diminished at the beginning of the full term of any member thereof.

Recognizing that 2014 was an election year providing for the election of a majority of county officials and that County Board members were required to set the salaries for the 2015-2018 term prior to January 15, 2014, the Nebraska Association of County Officials (NACO) once again renewed its continued effort to promote that fair and equitable salaries and benefits be provided to all elected and appointed county officials. A report of salary recommendations and supporting documentation was previously sent to your county clerk in 2013; however, if you would like a copy of the information, please contact Elaine Menzel at: elaine@nacone.org

Legal Line

Workplace Violence

As described by the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA),

Workplace violence is any act or threat of physical violence, harassment, intimidation, or other threatening disruptive behavior that occurs at the work site. It ranges from threats and verbal abuse to physical assaults and even homicide. It can affect and involve employees, clients, customers and visitors. Homicide is currently the fourth-leading cause of fatal occupational injuries in the United States.

Regularly we read or hear about situations that arise in the workplace that involve violence, the loss of life or harm to individuals. While this is certainly not a new issue to workplaces, workplace violence is a major concern for employers and employees nationwide.

Employers are encouraged to incorporate workplace violence prevention provisions within their employee handbooks, as well as training programs.

In a related issue, provisions that are applicable to county buildings are contained within the Nebraska Concealed Handgun Permit Act. Pursuant to Neb. Rev. Stat. § 69-2441(1)(a) A permitholder may carry a concealed handgun anywhere in Nebraska, except any (this list is not all inclusive of the statutory provisions):

sheriff station or office;

detention facility,

jail;

courtroom or building which contains a courtroom;

polling place during a bona fide election;

meeting of the governing body of a county, or other political subdivision;

place where the possession or carrying of a firearm is prohibited by state or federal law;

a place or premises where the person, persons, entity, or entities in control of the property or employer in control of the property has prohibited permitholders from carrying concealed handguns into or onto the place or premises; or

into or onto any other place or premises where handguns are prohibited by state law.

A permitholder carrying a concealed handgun in a vehicle or on his or her person while riding in or on a vehicle into or onto any parking area, which is open to the public, used by any location listed in subdivision (1)(a) of this section, does not violate this section if, prior to exiting the vehicle, the handgun is locked inside the glove box, trunk, or other compartment of the vehicle, a storage box securely attached to the vehicle, or, if the vehicle is a motorcycle, a hardened compartment securely attached to the motorcycle. This subsection does not apply to any parking area used by such location when the carrying of a concealed handgun into or onto such parking area is prohibited by federal law. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 69-2441(3)

An employer may prohibit employees or other persons who are permitholders from carrying concealed handguns in vehicles owned by the employer. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 69-2441(4).

Neb. Rev. Stat. § 69-2443(1) A permitholder who violates various provisions of the Concealed Carry Act, including 69-2441 is guilty of a Class III misdemeanor for the first violation and a Class I misdemeanor for any second or subsequent violation.

Neb. Rev. Stat. § 69-2443(4) A permitholder convicted of a violation of section 69-2441 that occurred on property owned by the state or any political subdivision of the state may also have his or her permit revoked. A permitholder convicted of a violation of section 69-2441 that did not occur on property owned by the state or any political subdivision of the state shall not have his or her permit revoked for a first offense but may have his or her permit revoked for any second or subsequent offense.

The PowerPoint presentation is available electronically at no charge (sent via e-mail) for use by counties during their annual County Government Day. The PowerPoint provides a comprehensive look at county government functions in the State of Nebraska and can be customized by each county. CD's are also available for $10.00 each to cover processing, shipping and handling. To request the County Government Day PowerPoint electronically, please e-mail your request to larrydix@nacone.org. The CD order form is available here.

NACO's 2015 Directory of County Officials is a valuable resource that not only gives you names, addresses, phone numbers, fax numbers and e-mail addresses of every county official in the state, but includes a listing of county board meeting days, NACO districts, county seats, NACO officers and directors, affiliate officers and NACO staff. In January, county clerks for each county will receive one complimentary copy of the directory intended for use by all offices in their courthouse. For additional copies, click here for the order form.

2015 County Board Handbook and Revisions

The 2015 County Board Handbook and related revisions are now available! The cost for a current handbook, including legislative information from the 2015 session, is $80.00/book plus $18.00 shipping and handling per book. The 2015 Supplement to the County Board Handbook is available for $25.00 plus $5.00 shipping and handling. The order form is available on the NACO website. For questions, contact Elaine Menzel by email or call her at (402) 434-5660 ext. 225.

DEADLINE EXTENDED TO APPLY FOR THE STEPPING UP NATIONAL SUMMIT Sunday, April 17, 2016 - Tuesday, April 19, 2016Washington, D.C.

It's not too late for counties to apply for the Stepping Up National Summit. The National Summit will bring together teams of county elected officials, criminal justice and behavioral health leaders and other stakeholders to reduce the number of people with mental illnesses in U.S. jails. The deadline has been extended until January 15, 2016.